Fate
by AnnaRinzler
Summary: A look at when Slade hired HIVE agents to destroy the Titans, but from a very different perspective.
1. Prologue

Fate: Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

"I'll do it."

Brother Blood stared at her from the opposite side of the desk. He made a noise that could only be described as a snort and tossed the manila folder on the table behind him, the sleeve of his stylized robe flaring out in the puff of air. His hooded assistants that stood in a corner continued sorting paperwork in the file cabinets.

"_You'll _do it. You and your raging vendetta against our client will complete the highest-paying contract we've ever gotten. Genius," Blood finished sarcastically.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Who're you going to send, then? Are _you _going to meet him? God knows you haven't got any social skills, Blood."

The man's pointed face flushed red as he scowled, crossing his arms in obvious irritation. His second-in-command had obviously struck a chord, one that deserved to be struck. Repeatedly.

"I have social skills, thank you," he replied crossly, "But I'm still not sending you. In fact, I might send anyone _but _you."

"I'm not going to just walk in there unannounced," she continued, curbing the sharpness in her tone to get what she wanted, "I'd wear a disguise. In the lab we've done wonders with body modification. Plus, I know how to talk to get a good deal, and you know it."

"Fine," he snapped, picking the folder back up and tossing it to her, "Just don't screw our contract up. You had better have one _hell _of a disguise for you to pull it off."

"I won't screw up," she said grimly, staring resolutely at a picture of her ex-husband's masked face, paper-clipped to the file in her hands.

Author's Note: I'm rewriting/editing most of my stories! Tell me if you like the changes!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Her H.I.V.E. agents failed.

Of _course _they failed. Addie had known they would; she had read up on the Titans' abilities as much as Slade had. She stood a few feet away from her ex-husband, smoothing her hands over the disgusting polyester skirt that went with her bland uniform. He stood with his hands locked behind his back and scanned the large plasma monitors installed into the wall.

"I assure you, such failures are not tolerated within the HIVE," Addie said, "Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they will be disciplined. _Strictly disciplined."_

"Actually, your agents served my plans quite well," Slade replied in his smooth, eerily calm voice, "I never expected them to succeed. They were merely messengers. And the _message_ has been received."

She resisted the urge to roll her fake blue eyes. Slade had never had a flair for the dramatic until they got divorced. Addie resisted the barrage of memories that flooded her brain: Barking out orders at him in basic training, making love on the beach, signing the divorce papers, flinging them in his face with a triumphant smile as she took the kids and ran.

"—is in the designated H.I.V.E. account. I trust you know the way out, Headmistress Williams."

"Yes I do. Thank you, Slade. Should you ever need our students again, they are at your disposal."

She made a slight bow, turned, and exited the premises at a brisk clip in her sensible, ugly shoes.

"_Come on, Private Wilson, don't you want to have a little fun?"_

_He was cute. He was __beyond __cute, and her training had certainly done a number on his physique. His eyes widened as she gently pushed him against the wall and eased the white t-shirt up. He lifted his arms in compliance and she pulled it off, trailing kisses along his neck and chest. God, he was gorgeous—just like those Calvin Klein underwear models she and her silly friends had ogled when they were teenagers._

"_Don't you think I'll get written up for this? Ma'am?" Slade asked, though his hands were already around her waist._

"_No one comes in the training room during off hours, Wilson," she sighed, "No one but us."_

"Headmistress _Williams_," Addie snorted, "Stupid."

She scowled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and wrapped a large white towel around her dripping body. Addie should have known better than to use a pseudonym so similar to her own name. A dissimilar one would have eliminated the possibility of any unconscious associations in Slade's mind, but alas_. _She had to be boring and unoriginal. Propping a hand on her hip, she smoothed a hand over her forehead and squinted at some of the wrinkles that were starting to form there. Addie tried to pacify herself—she didn't _look _like she was almost forty, did she? No, of course not. Her green eyes were still bright and her auburn hair didn't have _any _greys in it, at least not any that were noticeable with the side part she typically wore. After toweling off her hair, Addie casually picked up her watch off of the counter—7:04p.m. It had been a long, nerve-wracking day, but she had managed to squeeze another night at the hotel out of the Academy, which meant that she didn't have to check out until 1 p.m. the next day. But the H.I.V.E. headmistress was bored and hungry, which meant that a bottle of wine and a large steak were in her near future.

"_Shit," _Addie swore, backing up into the wall as her ex-husband's frame filled the doorway.

Slade strode forward, a determined look on his face as he clapped a hand over her mouth and slammed her into the wall.

"What do you think you're _doing_ here?" He hissed into Addie's ear, "This is _my _city."

"Mmph," she replied angrily, glaring at him until he removed the offending hand and grabbed both of her arms instead.

"Fulfilling a contract," Addie spat, squirming under his tight grip, "Don't be so fucking paranoid."

"You only swear when you're lying."

"What the hell are _you _doing here then? You got your precious Teen Titans to pay attention to you, or did your "message" not get delivered well enough?"

Slade laughed at her. Addie's blood boiled. He had somehow managed to figure out who she was, sneak into her hotel room in casual clothes, and catch her with her pants down. That would have _never _happened in Addie's army days.

"My ex-wife shows up, goes undercover and wants to work a business deal and I'm supposed to just let it go?"

"Be quiet. I didn't _do _anything to you."

Silence.

Her eyes locked on the eye patch that covered where his right eye used to be.

"_But it's okay to compromise your son's life?" _

_He turned away from her._

"_I have another contract. We'll talk about this when I get back."_

"_Addie?"_

_BAM._

She flinched. Slade had slammed her into the wall again. Addie coughed as the breath was knocked out of her, her own pounding heart refusing to let her catch it again.

"Then. _Right then. _What were you thinking about?"

Addie opened her eyes and stared at him. Her lip curled.

"I was thinking—how glad I am that you got rid of that _hideous_ facial hair."

He made a sound like a growl in his throat and a knock at the door made them both freeze.

"_Housekeeping!" _

"Don't think I won't break your neck, Adeline…" he whispered against her ear, sending chills down her spine as his mouth grazed her skin.

"Not now!" She managed to croak, staring at the closed bathroom door until she heard the woman roll her cart down the hallway.

Addie turned her attention back to her ex-husband and realized that he was breathing in the scent of her hair, pressing his body close to hers either for the sake of doing so or to keep her in check in case she decided to try and strike.

"Weshouldhavesex."

The words came out quickly, seemingly of their own accord, and Slade straightened up and raised one eyebrow. She didn't like asking and she certainly wasn't going to beg for it.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes or no. I didn't want your opin"—

He kissed the side of her neck. If Adeline had an "on" switch, that would be it. And he knew it.

Slade kissed her full on the mouth and Addie wrapped her legs around his waist. Convinced that he was going to get some, he relaxed and his hands went around her body. Addie stroked his incredibly soft hair and caught a whiff of Slade's expensive cologne. Keeping her legs crossed around his waist, the HIVE headmistress leaned back and in one fluid motion peeled off his nondescript black shirt.

"When did _your _personal style get so plain?" She asked, smoothing her hands down his muscular chest.

"Around the same time yours did," he replied, "Though I find it much improved this evening."

She responded immediately when Slade kissed her full on the mouth. Irritatingly enough, Addie had never been with anyone who could kiss quite like her ex-husband, and he had gotten all of his practice by being with her, which had to be some sort of great cosmic irony.

Addie opened her eyes and caught sight of herself and Slade in the mirror. Her hand was laced through his startlingly white hair while he went at her neck like a vampire. Addie's eyes fluttered with pleasure but she remained mesmerized with the image in the mirror, with Slade's rippling muscles and the way he held her and was caressing her thigh, slowing sliding his hand up and under the towel hugging her body.

"We should do it on the bed," she said in a strangled voice, obstinately refusing to moan as his mouth strayed lower.

"You're as soft as the bed, Slade whispered, "But if you insist."

"Was that an insult?" She asked finally as he carried her into the bedroom.

"You know it wasn't."

"No I don't."

Adeline had what her mother mournfully referred to as "the curse of curves." Ample chest, slender waist, and _hips. _Naturally her almost fanatic level of exercise kept most of the fat off of her, but she was forever stuck at a size 6 and couldn't go any lower for…hourglass reasons.

"You know I want your body," he said hungrily, trailing kisses down her neck, "You're like a pin-up model from the 50's. Not like the emaciated little _girls _wandering around today."

She was secretly pleased. Addie started undoing his pants to hide the look on her face.

"Remember the beach?" Her ex-husband asked.

"Maybe."

"No biting," he growled immediately.

"Shut up and take it, Slade.


	3. Chapter 2

**Fate Chapter Two**

The morning light woke her up.

Addie shifted to get away from it and burrowed deeper into the warmth that surrounded her—wait. Her eyes opened abruptly when she remembered her midnight change in position. She found her right hand pinned to her side and her left resting lightly on top of Slade's arm, which held her waist in a snug grip. When she shifted he made a noise in his sleep and pulled her closer. Consigning herself to her captivity, Addie trailed her hand down Slade's left arm, brushing against his fingers. Her thumb caught on something and soon the rest of her digits were lightly brushing against what had to be Slade's wedding ring.

_Why, _in God's name was he still wearing it? And why hadn't she noticed? She stroked his hand some more and bit her lip. Wedding ring aside, her ex was going to kill her when he awoke and found her curled up against him, infringing upon his personal space when she'd _clearly _instructed him to "stay on your side of the bed."

Slade shifted around her and unconsciously nuzzled the back of her neck in an attempt to escape the sunlight filtering through the blinds. Addie shivered and her whole body tingled at the touch. Turning over was going to be impossible since her legs were tangled with his and Slade didn't show any signs of waking up soon.

"_Addie?"_

She tried not to tense up as Slade stirred—that would be a dead giveaway that she wasn't asleep. Keeping her eyes closed, she let herself go limp as he sat up and pulled her with him, his warm body curling around hers. Slade held her in his arms for a moment before gingerly maneuvering around Addie and sliding out of bed. She curled up into the warm spot he left and pulled the sheet around herself, dozing off when she heard the sound of the shower running.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

Muttering under her breath, the H.I.V.E. headmistress grouchily got up and groped for her phone in her bag. The caller I.D. said "Jinx."

"Hello?"

"_Miss Wilson? This is Jinx and I'm really sorry to bother you and I know we screwed up—Gismo, give me back the phone!"_

"Kids. KIDS, give her back the phone," Addie croaked.

She sat up and put them on speakerphone. Slade's black t-shirt caught her eye and Addie yanked that on just for something to cover herself with. The fabric was loose and fell almost to her hips, but it was something.

"_Explain_ to me the problem," she continued in her "Headmistress" voice, "Jinx?"

"_Yeah? Miss Wilson, well we were supposed to fight the Titans and none of the boys could do anything"—_

"_THAT'S NOT TRUE YOU CRUD-MUNCHER."_

"Gismo, give her back the phone. Now."

She glanced up at Slade and lowered her eyes as he walked casually out of the bathroom clad in only a towel, water running in rivulets down his hard body.

"Children, let Jinx talk or you'll be stuck in detention for a month."

"_Miss Wilson, we couldn't do anything! We couldn't beat them because SOME PEOPLE couldn't do their job. Are you mad? Are you kicking us out?"_

"Jinx, I'm not kicking you out. Don't worry about that."

Addie eyed Slade warily as he sat down beside her.

"_I swear it wasn't my fault, ma'am, really." _

"It's _okay _Jinx—_ahh—_you don't have to worry about—_ngh—_anything right now," Addie said, taking the speakerphone setting off, "Stop it, Slade, I—_mmn—_don't do that."

Slade attacked her neck with his mouth again and Addie squirmed away from her ex-husband's embrace.

"I'm on the phone," she hissed.

He pushed her down on the bed and picked up Addie's phone. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Jinx?"

"_S-Slade?"_

He held the phone away and kissed Addie forcefully when she opened her mouth to protest.

"You and your team did everything you were supposed to do— thank you for your services."

"_You're welcome,"_ the frightened girl stammered.

Slade hung up the phone and tossed it on the nightstand.

"Where were we?" He asked, pinning Addie's arms to her sides.

"Let _go_."

"If you insist."

Addie gasped as 225 pounds of solid muscle fell on top of her. She managed to yank her arms out from under Slade and he kissed her and nuzzled her neck. He had obviously brushed his teeth from the way he tasted—

"Did you use my toothbrush?" She demanded suddenly.

Slade raised himself up a bit and stared at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"No."

"Then where—you brought stuff with you! Did you assume that I was just going to _let you stay here?"_

"Yes?"

"You're a pig."

"Obviously," he replied, kissing her forehead, "But I give good head."

"I've had better," Addie said spitefully, oddly self-conscious about the way his body was pressing against hers.

This quickly sobered him up.

"Liar."

"Yes I have," she responded smugly, sitting up against the headboard when he sat up.

Addie hugged her knees and stared evenly at Slade, who look levelly back at her. The towel was miraculously still around his waist.

"Well, I'm hungry at any rate," she said finally, avoiding his gaze, made no less powerful by the fact that he had lost an eye.

The absurdity of their situation overwhelmed her even as she ordered their breakfast. Twenty years ago, Addie couldn't even have dreamt up the scenario she was currently in: Having a casual roll in the hay with her ex-husband, whom she'd tried to kill on more than one occasion, in a lux hotel room that was paid for by her crazy employer. It didn't help her mental sanity that Slade's eye patch invariable brushed her neck whenever they had sex.

"I'll get the door," she muttered, after ten minutes of what seemed like comfortable silence on Slade's part.

The man wheeling her cart seemed surprised at the fact that she was modeling a bed sheet as a dress, but his eyebrows quickly lowered when she pressed a substantial tip into his hand.

"Mmm…fantastic," she sighed, happily surveying the assortment of breakfast items that had been brought up.

Slade rolled his single eye and Addie paused in her assault on a three-cheese omelet.

"What are you smirking about over there?"

"Nothing, dear."

"_Nothing, dear."_

"_There's _something_ bothering you, Slade, don't lie to me," Addie sighed, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek._

_She was more tired than she had ever been—Grant and Joey were in their room after a grueling hour-long fight on her part to get their teeth brushed, pajamas on, and lights out._

"_The kids are asleep," she whispered as she nuzzled his neck, giving her husband an open invitation._

_He stiffened slightly and extracted her arms from around his neck. Slade gave her a light kiss on the forehead._

"_Maybe later. I have some stuff to take care of, so don't wait up for me tonight."_

_Addie fought back a sudden onslaught of tears as her husband turned away from her, his eyes distant and vacant. She tried not to entertain the notion that he was seeing someone else._

_If he was she'd shoot herself—or him._


	4. Chapter 3

**Fate Chapter Three**

_Two Years Later_

Addie was aware of nothing but immense, numbing cold. It was black and quiet in her head. No thoughts of her living son or her dead one troubled her mind only the knowledge of the endless, boundless ice remained. No regret or remorse or anger for her past troubled Addie, and for a time she did not exist, even to herself.

Someone was touching her forehead. It was the first sensation that sparked the first neuron in her brain to start firing, to tell her that she was a human being and not merely a cluster of cells. The sensation of another person's skin on hers brought her bubbling back to consciousness and for the first time she stirred. The owner of the hand did not stop touching her, nor did the person begin tearfully addressing her by name or shaking her by the shoulders. It was a smooth, constant touch, and by the time Addie realized that her hair was being methodically stroked away from her forehead she was conscious enough to try opening her eyes.

"_Slade?"_

Her voice came out in a feeble rasp, but it was the first word on her tongue as she squinted up into the bright hospital light. Addie's head ached but her vision gradually came into focus, her ex-husband's grim face looking down at her.

"Right here," he answered evenly, pulling his hand away and curling it around hers, gingerly maneuvering around her IV.

Addie fell silent for a moment and blinked hard. She wasn't in a real hospital. There were no windows in the small room and she was the only person in the only bed. She must have been taken by Slade. Her memory was fuzzy and slow to return but eventually it did.

"How long?" She asked, staring up at him and looking for obvious signs of aging.

"Two years. Not long."

"Good."

His hand in hers was comforting and Addie laced their fingers together without looking at them. He had strong hands, bigger than hers and with a steadier grip. They made her feel secure.

"I didn't think they'd do it," she continued, looking back at him and swallowing hard.

"There were too many of you. They didn't know what else to do."

Addie shuddered. Flash-freezing was a fate worse than death, at least in her mind. It was a kind of death in itself. Who was going to thaw out a villain, after all? She'd been captured with the Brotherhood of Evil, wearing her Headmistress disguise as she tried to protect some of her students. The Titans had frozen her along with the rest of the villains they'd found. She glanced back up at Slade. They were definitely in his compound. He wore his standard suit and his mask lay in two pieces on top of the counter behind him. They hadn't had much contact since their memorable night in her hotel room. She set her jaw. They'd had their post-divorce one-night stands with each other, but it didn't change anything. Still, this had to count for something.

"You saved my life, Slade," Addie said, giving his hand a weak squeeze, "Thank you. For what it's worth."

"Don't mention it," he replied with a grim smile, and for a moment she saw a spark of his old self, from his army days or perhaps before, in Slade's strange expression.

This changed nothing. It changed everything. It didn't make her fall in love with him again. She didn't think anything could accomplish _that, _but there was something different about her. The complete and utter repulsion for him wasn't there anymore. She was roused out of her thoughts when he moved behind her and started pressing buttons on the IV machine.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to get some sleep," Slade replied, "Real sleep, not like the coma you've been in."

"If you say so," she murmured tiredly, whatever he'd given her starting to work its way through her body, "Will you be here when I wake up?"

He didn't answer for a minute. Slade seemed to be pondering what to say, choosing his words carefully.

"If you want me to be."

"I do."

Her words were tired and slow. One would have to listen carefully to hear the vague thread of fondness in her tone. But she said the words, and she meant them. It wasn't a declaration of love or even a declaration of forgiveness. But it was a good start.

**Author's Note: Finally done! I'll be finishing my other stories this summer as well and deleting some as well.**


End file.
